Stargate: Pegasus
by barjamr
Summary: Post Season 5 AU. The Atlantis personnel have fought the good fight, but in the end they could not convince the powers-that-be. Atlantis would stay on Earth. All hope for helping the people of Pegasus is not lost, however, because one of them will make the ultimate discovery.
1. Chapter 1

Former Navy Lieutenant Commander Mark Taggert took a deep breath of fresh air and then exhaled slowly, feeling tension steadily leach from his shoulders in concert with the air leaving his lungs. He made a slow, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn to take in the surroundings, ending just in time to watch the event horizon dissipate and the unmistakable sound of the stargate shutting down made him smile. There was no denying that he had missed it. It was like going back to his childhood home and having a glass of Granny's sweet tea. It just made everything better… for a moment anyway.

When nothing appeared to be out of place, he picked up the handles of the wheelbarrow-like cart piled with his things and began pushing it toward the distant tree line. The world he was on was uninhabited, as far as rumor, scouting and scans from the _USS George_ _Hammond_ could tell. That had been one of his prerequisites for finding a place to work from. He had every intention to cause major chaos for the wraith, and he did not want to lead them back to any people if they were somehow able to track him. This way if they wanted to punish someone, he would be the only one around.

That was the short-term plan, anyway. Eventually he hoped to recruit some help from people out there that wanted to fight the wraith, and he knew that there were plenty of those. The key was finding some that could be trusted, that could work with a team and could follow orders. He would even be willing to follow someone else's orders if they could prove they had the right experience and know-how. That would be decided later, of course, so for the present he would set up a camp and prepare to start doing recon.

Mark was a little surprised to find himself in the position he was in, despite it being exactly what he had asked for. After talking it over with Sheppard, he had gone to General O'Neill with his request and even though he knew the man personally approved, getting the okay from the powers-that-be was another story. When O'Neill had informed him of the special dispensation granted by the President, it had taken him completely by surprise.

Resigning his commission had been the hardest part, since he had no family to speak of anymore, and the secrecy required from his job made it difficult to keep any real friends around. The Navy had been his life from the day he signed up until the aftermath of a simple covert mission gone sideways. That was two and a half years ago and resulted in his recruitment to the SGC. An unusual occurrence since it was mostly the Air Force and Marines in the program. He had met a Navy Corpsman and a few Army personnel, but besides them, he did not personally know of any others.

As strange as his life had been since joining the stargate program, he would not change it for anything. Of course, the fact that he gave up his life and career on Earth to come back to the Pegasus galaxy and fight the wraith was ample evidence of that.

His path in life had always been a little unorthodox. Early graduation from high school, a degree in electro-mechanical engineering, and then the Navy. Many heads were scratched at that career choice, especially when he volunteered for BUDS instead of choosing a field in line with his degree. Not to mention taking a voluntary demotion to Lieutenant Commander so he could come to Atlantis without usurping Lorne's job as SIC. It had certainly led to some interesting times, and he had no reasons to change his ways now.

Mentally shaking off these thoughts, Mark began looking for the site he had picked out for his camp. It would take some time to get set up properly, and then he could start exploring. There were some other caves nearby that the _Hammond's_ scans had found that might be a good fallback position and needed to be scouted, but then he would concentrate on the list of gate addresses he had.

Most of them at the top of the list were for trading worlds that he hoped to gather intel from, but the addresses after that were unexplored worlds from the Atlantis database that possibly had Ancient facilities on them, or some other feature that peaked their interest. Whether there was anything worthwhile there was unknown, but he felt that they were at least in need of investigating.

After finally reaching his clearing, he set the handles of his cart on the ground and gave the area a good once over. It was a decent little setup and when he was finished, it would be a defensible spot that he could make comfortable enough to live out of. The cave he picked was only twenty feet to the back wall, but had a small opening that was easily defended by one person.

The interior was level and pretty wide open, except for an alcove near the back left that he could use as a bedroom. The rest of the space had plenty of room for the remainder of his gear and anything else he would find in his travels.

A chuckle escaped his lips as he thought back to the look on Carter's face when they reviewed the info on the planet.

 **-oO0Oo-**

 _The images on the monitor at the back of the_ Hammond's _bridge showed a thickly wooded world with jagged mountain ranges not far from the gate._

 _"I hope you got your merit badges in woodcraft. Looks rough down there." Carter quirked an eyebrow at him and then shared a look with Lorne._

 _The Major snorted, and then nodded._

 _"Pretty sure he was raised by wolves. He should feel right at home." Lorne's straight face cracked up after a second, and he grinned. "I always wondered if he and Ronon were separated at birth."_

 _"I'm not sure if I should be insulted or proud," Mark replied._

 _The grunt from his left preceded the Satedan's response._

 _"You might have been able to work with the Elites."_

 _Mark smirked at Lorne until the taller man continued in the most thoughtful voice Mark had ever heard him use._

 _"We always did need grunts to repair our weapons and armor."_

 _Carter and Lorne made a weak attempt at stifling their laughter, and Mark just shook his head in mild chagrin. They all returned their focus to the images in front of them after the chuckles died away._

 _"I'd pick one of these caves in the foothills. Should be defensible." Ronon quietly rumbled._

 _"One of 'em might be a good place to fallback, as well," said Lorne._

 _"I agree. Hopefully you never need it, but..." The Colonel shrugged._

 _"Better safe than sorry... right, well let's do it. If you can take me back to New Athos, I'll get my gear and gate back here. I ought to be ready for the rest of the supplies within a week or so."_

 _"Sounds like a plan." Carter nodded to Mark, and then moved off to start issuing orders._

 **-oO0Oo-**

It was certainly roughing it, but eventually that could be changed. Maybe one day he could even build a log cabin with the front porch overlooking the nearby stream, but for the time being it would work.

 **-oO0Oo-**

A week later Mark was smiling as he watched two children chase each other through the stalls of the marketplace. This was the third planet on his list of trade worlds, and his time hitting up these markets had actually been productive. News of culled worlds and wraith in-fighting were helping him update his map of the galaxy and its trouble spots. He also added three more gate addresses to his list.

One was rumored to have some strange ruins that just might be Ancient-related, and another was a world that had been destroyed by the wraith when they had become too advanced for the space vampires' comfort. The last could possibly have a wraith lab or some kind of small outpost. He was not too sure about going to that world without back up, but it was still worth looking into.

As he walked through the market, he reflected on the decision to, essentially, become one of the Pegasus galaxy's citizens. He knew there were going to be plenty of things he missed about Earth, but still could not find it in himself to regret it. Most of the worlds, and people, were not much above the hunter-gatherer stage, but that had nothing to do with the fact that the majority were good people that did not deserve to live in constant fear of the wraith.

With that thought, he finished the meat skewer he had bought for lunch, and then brushed himself down to get rid of any crumbs or messes. It felt a little bit strange wearing civilian clothes with a tactical vest, but he was getting used to it.

With a quick glance around he turned toward the path to the gate. It was still early enough in his day to hit the next address on his list. The world supposedly had an Ancient outpost on it, but Atlantis had never gotten around to it. Not deemed a priority because it was listed as abandoned and stripped of resources, the address had fallen to the bottom of the queue. It still might not have anything there, but he was on his own schedule now, so thought he would check it out.

Not having anyone to report to was a pretty big bonus in his book. Yes, he would need to be more careful, and the consequences of his actions could not be laid at anyone else's feet, but he also did not have to wait for approval to help when he knew it was the right thing to do.

These thoughts brought him to the gate, and he patiently waited for the merchant that was pushing his cart through before dialing his own address. After getting a solid grip on his AR-15, and keeping it pointed in the general vicinity of "ahead", he stepped through.


	2. Chapter 2

Ronon kept his focus on the two Marines sparring in front of him, looking for flaws that needed immediate correction. Both men had obvious holes in their defenses, obvious to him at least, but he was looking more for what he thought of as technical faults. The kind that turned into blind spots or glaring tells that an enemy combatant could take advantage of. Holes could be filled with experience, defects needed to be corrected before they became a real problem.

Corporal Jordan was looking to be a solid fighter that could become a dangerous opponent with more training, but Sergeant Hooks would never be better than adequate. He also had a slight hitch to his front kick that was an obvious giveaway, and would only get worse.

Just before Ronon could call a halt, Lorne waved at him from the door of the gym. Ronon mentioned Hooks' issue to Gunnery Sergeant Costas, and then wended his way through the other Marines to get to the Major.

"What's up?" Ronon asked.

"The Colonel wants us on the bridge. It seems the Genii want to talk."

"Great."

Ronon tried to keep the growl out of his voice, but was not quite sure he managed it. He had no love for the Genii, but with Atlantis no longer in Pegasus, the Genii were one of the most capable opponents of the wraith. The enemy of my enemy was not a concept exclusive to Earth, but Ronon was not sure he would ever trust them enough to work side by side.

"I don't like them either, but we're gonna need some allies if we plan on making a real difference out here," Lorne said, keeping his tone even, but he could not hide his irritation at the situation, either.

"Right. We can work with them, but I'm still not letting my guard down."

"That's why you're here, big guy... to watch our backs. Just try not to shoot Ladon before we hear what he has to say."

Lorne let a small grin slip when Ronon just grunted in answer. They had been back in Pegasus for a month, and had even been in a battle already. It was a space battle, so Ronon could only sit and watch, but they had destroyed the two wraith cruisers without much trouble. Other than that, he, Lorne and Teldy had taken teams down to a few planets to gather intel and let some of their former allies know they were back in a limited capacity. The response had been… mixed.

Currently they were getting ready to break orbit and head for M4G-551. It was the planet they had left Taggert on and they were swinging by to check in and compare notes. Ronon was beginning to wonder if he should have joined the warrior that left his home to take up the cause of the people in Pegasus. When they had last talked to him, the man had already set foot on one more world than the _Hammond's_ people currently had, and that was two weeks ago.

Now it looked like they would be taking a detour to talk to some more former allies. Ronon once again had to fight down the lingering anger from Earth's decision to keep Atlantis and dismantle the city. Not only did this galaxy need the help, but more personally he preferred to be with his team and actually doing something.

McKay had quit before he was forced to take part in the dismantling of Atlantis, and Ronon did not begrudge the scientist of his choice. Perhaps one day they would find something here in Pegasus that required his expertise, and he would return.

Sheppard and Teyla had stayed to fight the decision the IOA had made, and he knew they would keep trying until the bitter end, but he also knew it was not going to matter. Teyla would come back to Pegasus, though what she would do then, he did not know. She had Torren to think about, after all.

It was a pretty good bet that Sheppard would find a way to get back, as well. Maybe the thought of never seeing Teyla again would scare some sense into the man, and he would finally tell her how he felt and follow her back. And maybe some more of the Ancestors would show up, and start passing out ZPMs like they were sweet treats. Ronon shook his head ruefully at these errant thoughts, and focused on his own future.

He was truly grateful for Colonel Carter's help, and her taking him on, but it was hard for him sit around and wait. 'Hurry up and wait', as Gunny Costas was fond of saying. 'Get ready to standby' was how Ronon's old training officer had said it. Trying to remember how to be a soldier, and follow orders was harder than he had thought it would be. Even though he was a civilian contractor, Carter had given him a lot of responsibility and trust. He would do everything in his power to not betray that trust, but he may have changed too much during his time as a Runner to ever step back onto the path one Specialist Ronon Dex had been on all those years ago.

They stepped on to the bridge as Carter was ending her conversation with someone on the comms. She took a deep breath before she turned to them, though as usual, there was no other sign that she was anything other than in complete control.

"Gentlemen," she began. "Major Teldy's team met up with a Genii patrol just before she called for retrieval. It seems Ladon Radim has gotten wind of our return and would like to meet."

She waved them to follow her to her small office just to the rear of the bridge. Once they were inside and seated she offered them coffee while they waited on Teldy. Ronon poured himself some water instead, having never developed a taste for the bitter Earth drink. Luckily, Teldy joined them before he could get too irritated at sitting in the cramped chair.

"Ma'am. The Genii soldier I talked to informed me that his people are interested in re-establishing a friendly alliance with our people, even though we no longer have the might of Atlantis backing us up."

Teldy appeared to be struggling to keep her tone professional, and could not quite keep the disdain off her face. Carter snorted at the words, but then grimaced.

"Did he give a time and place?"

"He would like us to come to them, and contact them via radio once we reach orbit. He suggested ten days." Teldy answered the Colonel.

"Well... that still gives us time to meet up with Taggert," Lorne supplied.

"Agreed," Carter answered. "And we will proceed to the Genii home world with caution. I doubt they have anything on the planet that could be a danger to this ship, but I would rather not leave anything to chance."

"Ladon's a snake. Better to be ready for anything." Ronon grimaced before continuing. "They still may be our best option as an ally against the wraith."

"No one said this was ever going to be easy." All of them nodded at the Colonel's words. "Alright, we'll meet up with Taggert and then plan for our meeting with Ladon. Let's try to be as ready for the unexpected as we can."

 **-oO0Oo-**

Mark grinned at the four people approaching his camp. Even if they had not called ahead, his motion sensors and cameras around the gate and his camp had worked like a charm, so he was fully prepared for company. Since he was expecting them anyway, he had decided to have a little bit of a feast ready. One of the animals on his planet was very similar to a pig, right down to the taste, and he had begun supplementing his supplies with fresh meat a few weeks prior. He even had a small garden that would soon be producing. Apparently, fish and fowl were nearly indistinguishable from what they had on Earth, too.

Between hunting and the garden he had going, he could avoid the cases of MREs that were stashed in his cave. He would eventually build a smoker and would be able to make the meat stretch even further. All part of his plan to eventually be self-sufficient if necessary.

The group from the _Hammond_ were walking up to his camp even as he was carving meat off the animal hanging on the spit. Of course, Ronon was the first one waiting when he began passing out plates with a potato-like bulb that had been chopped up and fried along with some bread he had traded for that morning, to go with the meat. After a quick round of greetings, they all spent a few minutes in relative silence, only broken by some approving moans. Mark waved Ronon toward the rest of the hog when the man had finished his first helping, and then turned to the others.

"Damn, Taggert. If I had known you could cook like this I would have requisitioned a grill back on Atlantis," Lorne said after a contented sigh.

Mark just grinned and told them to help themselves. Colonel Carter finished first and then sipped at her beer while the others worked on their meals. The setting reminded Mark of his younger days, camping out with his brother in the backwoods of Southeast Georgia. Those were good memories, before all of the painful times. He missed his brother every day, but he had made peace with his death long ago, so he was able to enjoy the moment for what it was.

"Any good news?" Carter began after it looked like Lorne and Teldy were finishing up.

"I don't know about 'good', but I do have something." Mark set his plate aside and leaned forward, elbows on knees. "While I was intel gatherin' on one of the trade worlds I got an address to a planet that supposedly has a small wraith lab or facility of some kind. They had no other info, and honestly... the guy was kinda shady lookin', but I checked it out anyway."

The others waited him out while he took a drink of the dark beer he was nursing. It surprised him that there were no questions coming his way yet, but hurried on anyway.

"There is definitely a wraith facility there, and from the outside it looks small, but y'all know how deceivin' that can be."

All of them nodded, and Ronon answered.

"Could be a lot more underground. Won't know 'til you get in there."

"Right. I don't know if the _Hammond's_ sensors could get anything more, but either way, I feel it's worth gettin' a peek inside… maybe blow it up." He shared an evil grin with Ronon, and then continued. "I scouted it from a distance, for a couple days but there was no activity outside. I was hopin' y'all might be interested in a joint op? I don't really want to go in there without backup."

"Good thinking. Let's take a trip up to the _Hammond_ , and we can ID the planet on our nav charts. We have a meet and greet with the Genii in about a week, but we should have plenty of time to do a recon of the system." Carter stood and dusted off her hands. "We can finish comparing notes up there."

"Sounds like a plan. Ronon, can you help me put this hog in the basket there? I figured I'd send the rest to your mess hall." He aimed the last statement at Carter. "I'll never eat it all."

Carter grinned.

"I'm sure the crew will appreciate it. Thanks," she said before contacting the ship to beam them up.


	3. Chapter 3

Mark sighed as he looked at the collapsed hallway in front of him. He knew it would be smarter to explore the rundown facility with some help, but he chose to come back to Pegasus on his own rather than as part of the military, so he could not expect them to follow him around or wait on him all the time.

They already had a joint mission in the works for after Carter's meeting with the Genii, and he did not want them to think he was trying to take advantage. So he would just have to be careful, and if he found anything too dangerous to go alone he would mark it for later and come back better prepared.

The last corridor he had traversed already had one tight spot he had to squeeze through, and this one was going to take a little excavating to pass the cave-in. The grey lichen covered walls weakly reflected the beam of his flashlight, but it was enough to see what he was doing.

With no other options than to get started or go home, he began to cautiously dig a path at the top that he could get through without bringing the rest down.

 **-oO0Oo-**

Two hours later he was traveling deeper into the bowels of a very old military facility. It was possibly thousands of years old, but not of Ancient make. The more likely explanation was an advanced civilization that was destroyed by the wraith a long time ago.

He had found an armory, but it was filled with nothing better than rusted metal, and brittle plastics. One of the other rooms, likely a workshop considering all of the rusted hulks that must have once been machinery, did have some paper schematics of their versions of firearms, but the paper was too old to get any details.

Still, he had not yet reached the bottom of the old base, and the bunker was built solidly enough that he felt safe exploring. After searching out a few more rooms with no luck, he finally came to the last room at the bottom of the facility.

"Hello… what's this?" He questioned aloud.

It could possibly be bad that he was starting to talk to himself, but he figured no one was around to call him on it, so he would let it slide. For now.

The room he entered was thirty foot square with nothing else inside but a twenty foot in diameter, vault-like door built into the floor. Fortunately, it was opened, because there was no way he could have gotten the two foot thick hunk of metal moving by himself, especially with it being so rusted out. Stairs spiraled down into the darkness, and his flashlight revealed the floor at the bottom, but not much else.

He took a few steadying breaths, and then he began to descend. Luckily, the stairs were concrete, since he would not have felt safe if they were metal. Even the huge door was covered in flaking rust, so there was no telling what the ravages of time could have done to a set of stairs.

Once he hit the halfway point of his downward stroll, the view changed slightly. The concrete was sitting on top of light tan walls with a reddish-bronze trim that was vaguely familiar. That familiarity was even stronger as he descended into a wide hallway. When his feet touched the dusty floor, he found himself in the dead-end of a passage with a door on either side.

A quick check of one of the rooms verified what he had already begun to suspect. Whoever built the ruins above, they had done it atop an Ancient facility. It was hard not to let the excitement of the find get to him, but he forced it down with some effort. There was no telling if anything was even leftover from the Ancients.

The place had obviously been discovered once before, though it was doubtful it had recently been re-discovered, judging by the cave-in he had cleared a passage through. That blockage had settled so well that he was certain it had been there for a very long time. However, the people that had originally discovered the Ancient facility could have stripped it bare.

 **-oO0Oo-**

The first hour of his search had been a bust, but he was not yet disheartened. The initial group of rooms he had come across looked like living quarters, and he was not surprised that they were all empty. The Ancients likely had plenty of time to collect their personal effects before departing, and anything left over was probably among the first things taken to study by the civilization that found the place.

When he reached the third sub-level, he started to feel pretty good. Offices surrounded what appeared to be a control room. As usual, the Ancient construction had held up remarkably well, and he had no trouble prying open doors, though none of them were powered. After checking all of the surrounding rooms, and finding another set of stairs going down, he decided to head for the control room.

This was the moment of truth. He stopped at the door and gave the space a look before entering. The room had four consoles circling the center, which had the Ancient equivalent of a display monitor in front of each and attached to a column at the heart of the room.

One more deep breath, and a slight coughing fit later, and he stepped into the room. He felt slightly light-headed at the thrill of the anticipated mental connection and the lights slowly coming up. That did not mean much, of course, but it was certainly a damn good start.

The console right in front of the entrance to the room seemed a good place to begin, and he approached it cautiously. His fingers were an inch away from the crystal interface when he felt the ever so slight mental hum of the console "waking up", and a second later it lit up as well.

He wondered briefly if the people who built the city above ever figured out how to interact with the technology without the gene, or were they completely frustrated that they could not get anything to work. Then he dismissed that pointless thought.

As the ancient script began rolling across the screen, he let out a whoop. It may not turn out to be anything special, but there would surely be data they did not previously have, so he was happy. Mark dropped his backpack on the floor and pulled his tablet out.

He once again took a second to send out a silent "thank you" to Colonel Sheppard for sneaking two of the miniaturized naquadah generators into his supplies so that he could keep all of his electronic gear charged and have power at his camp. His Ancient language skills were still not great, and he would have been screwed without Dr. McKay's translation program.

After finding the appropriate crystal slot and hooking up his tablet he began to read.

"Huh… a research outpost."

Mark scratched his head, and then settled in for the long haul. He knew that the research they did could cover a vast number of topics, so he began to do key word searches. There were a few default searches he always started with, but there was no telling if there was anything to do with the offensive or defensive capabilities in this database. It did not really have the feel of a military installation, but it never hurt to check.

He did not have to meet up with the _Hammond_ for several days, and he had enough supplies for a week, so he would settle in and do some serious searching.

 **-oO0Oo-**

"Whoa… what?"

Mark's voice echoed loudly through the control room. He cringed a little, and then looked back to his tablet. He had almost skimmed right by the words without pause, but the all-important phrase finally registered.

"Military posting… hot damn!"

He almost stood up from where he had settled against the wall, but realized that would be pointless. There was no video or image file. It was just a text communication between one of the scientists and someone on another world, so there was no connected data to the words, but it did give him a new avenue of attack.

Almost a day later, he was finally starting to see results. Not many, and it would likely take quite a bit more searching, but he was definitely onto something.

After he set up another handful of search parameters, he stood up and stretched. It was time for some water, and a little more exploring. He knew that the searches would take a while, and it would give him time to hit the two floors below where he was currently.

 **-oO0Oo-**

Mark took one more look around the control room, and then headed back for the exit. He should have enough time to gate home, and get about six hours of shuteye before he needed to meet up with Carter. It had taken almost all of the time he allotted, but he finally narrowed down the last gate address for the Ancient that was sent to the aforementioned military posting.

It was a very tedious process, and he had almost lost the thread a couple times, but finally his stubbornness prevailed. Reading through several years' worth of what amounted to email correspondence was definitely a mind-numbing experience, though.

He took the time to make a few more checks just to be certain that he had everything, and then saved it all on his tablet. There was a chance that the address would only lead to another research outpost and he would need to do some more searching, but he was certain he was on the right track.

The next thing he did was fill up the external, high capacity hard drive he had brought with as much data as he could fit, which was mostly agricultural, and botanical info. He planned to search for any of the medicinal and edible flora and fauna out there during his travels, so it was handy info to have. He eventually wanted to be totally self-sufficient.

Lastly, he deleted any, and all of the data pertaining to the military outpost from the Ancient computers. His tablet would be the only source. He was planning to turn the facility he was currently in over to Carter, and knew they would be ecstatic with all of the research data, but he was keeping the military site to himself. At least until he could claim it for his own, if it was indeed useable.

It was not that he did not trust her, he absolutely did. Her superiors, however, would be another story. If the outpost were in a livable condition, then he would claim it as his home, along with everything in it. Once he had done that, and secured it, then he would be willing to work with others and maybe share the bounty.

Besides, it probably would not have anything useful in it anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard had to force himself to ease up on the white-knuckled grip he had on the railing. He had often come out onto the control room balcony in the past, and sometimes for no better reason than to enjoy the view and fresh air. Deep blue water and a salty sea breeze could have a calming effect, if you let them. Something he had once grudgingly admitted to Lieutenant Commander Taggert over a few beers one evening. The sailor had merely grinned knowingly and tipped back his drink.

Now though, John stared out at sand, scrub brush and concrete. The slight breeze that reached him was hot, dry and in no way refreshing.

He had not let the forced move to Area 51 discourage him. Well… not completely, anyway. As long as the major systems were still intact, the city could make the return journey to Pegasus, and he tried to let that motivate him.

The move had cost power, though, and the constant running of the cloak was steadily eating at the reserve of power needed to open the hyperspace corridor and run the shield until they reached a suitable planet. The longer they waited, the closer the power level came to the point of no return.

It was definitely starting to get to him, though. He tried to stay positive, for Teyla and Torren's sake, if nothing else, but that was becoming more and more difficult.

The sound of the door opening behind him broke him away from his thoughts, and he turned to see General O'Neill strolling over. The man did not make eye contact, so John turned back to the "view" without bothering to render any kind of military honor. He knew O'Neill hated that kind of thing from people he considered friends.

"Sheppard." The General greeted him evenly.

"O'Neill," John returned, keeping with the casual atmosphere.

A deep sigh was the only response for nearly a minute.

"They've given the go ahead. The brainiacs are gonna start tearing into the city with a vengeance… I'm sorry."

The white-knuckled grip came back with its own vengeance. It took a lot of will power, maybe all he had, to contain the violent outburst he was feeling. It was not O'Neill's fault, and he knew the man had tried everything he could. O'Neill did not deserve John's vitriol. He was still struggling internally when O'Neill spoke again.

"The President agreed to let the IOA be fully involved in the process, since doing anything else would have led to a major international incident. They would never have stood for anything less, and they never would have allowed the city to leave." The General let out another big sigh. "Basically everything but the cloak, shield and the drones are going to be removed or pulled apart."

"So they're just going to give up on the people in Pegasus. It's not their problem, right? Who car-"

O'Neill's raised hand and steady stare pulled him up short.

"I know, Sheppard. I get it… really." The man turned back out to the depressing view. "Nothing we say or do is gonna change this situation anymore. Time to figure out what's next for you."

John let out his own heavy sigh, though a bit more explosively. Right… not O'Neill's fault. Move on. Simple, right?

"I… I need to go back. Maybe…"

Before he could flounder any more, the General spoke.

"I know you're the one who put the bug in Taggert's ear about going back the way he did."

John shrugged, not denying it.

"We talked about it. He didn't really have anything keeping him here, and he just seemed to be a good fit with Pegasus. I learned in my little… side trip to the future, Ronon supposedly had some success with similar tactics. I figure the big guy will probably join him, eventually. Sitting around on a ship and waiting for trouble is just not his style."

"Right." O'Neill shook his head at the last statement.

" _And_ … this time there wouldn't be an army of hybrids around to oppose them. Besides, Taggert sure wasn't going to hang around just so he could be a 'human light switch' for the scientists," John continued.

"Kinda like someone else we know?" O'Neill quirked a grin, but was pointedly _not_ looking at John. "Been thinking about that whole Pegasus situation…"

His eyes were suddenly fully focused on the General, shutting out all else. Jack O'Neill's legendary outside-the-box thinking would make anyone pay more attention when he used those words. The General stuffed his hands in his pockets, and rocked back and forth on his heels before continuing.

"A task force, headed up by Carter. Strictly to keep an eye on the wraith, to ensure they stay away from anything Earth or Milky Way related. Of course, being so far away, she would be the one that decided what that entailed."

"Isn't that what she's doing already?" John asked with a frown.

"Not really. She was sent there to gather intel along those lines, but really just to poke around and then return." O'Neill shrugged nonchalantly. "But what if she found that they weren't quite busy enough? That the in-fighting wasn't as bad as we thought, and she wasn't comfortable with the amount of free time they had on their life-sucking hands."

John snorted.

"That would certainly be bad. Someone really should stick around to remedy that."

"Right? My thinking exactly. Now I know that's what you _suggested_ Taggert do."

O'Neill raised his hand as John opened his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah… the man resigned, and you couldn't order him to do that anyway, but we both know that was a plan _you_ cooked up. Luckily, Taggert agreed with you, and is the right man for the job."

O'Neill crossed his arms and leaned back against the railing as John merely nodded, though grudgingly.

"Bet he could use some help?" The General continued.

"I'm sure he could, but didn't the President-"

"The President can't send Atlantis, or afford to send any more ships… but he also hasn't cut off the funding that was allocated for the Atlantis Expedition. He merely had it combined with our other off-world operations." O'Neill grinned at John. "Wanna guess who's in charge of said operational budget?"

The sharp bark of laughter could not be contained, and John did not even try.

"Now… obviously it won't be the same as sending Atlantis back, but… if you're willing… I would send another platoon of Marines, as well as some more Air Force personnel to be dropped off by the _Daedalus_. I would also send two Jumpers. You take command of those people and the other platoon already on the _Hammond_ , with Lorne as your second. Carter heads up the task force, and you answer to her."

John was having a hard time keeping up, but seemed to be nodding vigorously anyway.

The snort of laughter O'Neill let out was immediately joined by one from John.

"Sorry, I just wasn't sure how I could ever get back… officially. Thought I might have to join Taggert." John said.

"Well, it won't be easy, and you kinda will join him, in a sense. The _Hammond_ can't support that many people, so you are going to have to find a base of operations on some planet." O'Neill got a serious look on his face again. "This is going to be strictly voluntary for both platoons, so I'm not certain we'll have the thirty or forty people each will need to fill out a roster."

"I'll take whatever I can get."

"Right. Guess it's a good thing I sent a Navy SEAL ahead to scout out some possible locations. You know, the one that has previous experience operating behind enemy lines? Tell Taggert that the paperwork for his resignation is still sitting on my desk."

John just shook his head and smirked at O'Neill. The man always seemed to be ten steps ahead of everybody else. John now knew there was no way that Atlantis could go back, but he should have known that O'Neill would find a way to do something to help the people in Pegasus.

Before he could respond Teyla walked out on the balcony. He smiled at her and was looking forward to telling her the news. It certainly was not the same as Atlantis returning, but it was definitely better than nothing. _And_ this time there would be no IOA getting in the way. While he had grown to respect Woolsey and the man eventually realized that things needed to be handled a little differently in Pegasus, the Oversight Advisory was still too much of a thorn in the side for John's comfort.


	5. Chapter 5

Ronon studied the area in front of the entrance to the wraith lab carefully. When he felt comfortable there were no sentries, he nodded to Lorne and Taggert, and then swiftly crossed the open space between the woods and the doorway. Reaching the entrance without raising any alarm did not really surprise him. These labs usually had minimal resistance, for some reason. He did not know if it was lack of manpower, or some other obscure reason, but it certainly worked in their favor.

Taggert joined him at the door, and whipped out a folding knife to slice into the wall. Ronon checked the setting on his blaster, and then nodded to the man who was waiting for his signal. The door popped open, and he slipped quietly inside, weapon at the ready.

"All clear," he whispered, knowing the radio mic would still pick it up.

Taggert, Lorne and the five marines with them followed as he made his way to the first intersection of corridors. Teldy had drawn the short straw, and so was waiting outside to reinforce them if needed. Ronon was sure that would not be necessary, but it was good to have backup.

They split up at the fist intersection with Lorne and three of the Marines going right. It took them ten minutes to find a console that Taggert could hack into, but Ronon passed by it without slowing so he could do a little recon while the man got to work.

His instincts were pushing him to make sure the area was clear; since this would usually be about the time something bad would happen. The wraith he nearly collided with as he rounded the corner was probably as surprised as he was. The thing recovered quickly and was fast enough to deflect the hand holding Ronon's blaster, but not the hand holding the knife that went deep into its eye socket. As he eased the dead wraith to the ground, he informed the others.

"One wraith down. No signs of discovery yet, but we better hurry. There's nowhere to hide the body."

"Got it. There's three sublevels below this one. It's a… human physiology research facility," Taggert answered, the disgust obvious in his voice. "Mainly, it looks like they're tryin' to improve on the… benefits they receive from the feedin' process."

"That means there could be some live test subjects around," Lorne spoke up over the radio. "This might have just turned into a rescue op. Eyes peeled, everyone."

"Alright. But we're still blowing it up," Ronon replied.

"Of course," Lorne replied after an indignant snort.

Twenty minutes, two floors and six dead wraith later and they had regrouped with Lorne, and were preparing to transport to the last sublevel. Ronon nodded to Taggert and gritted his teeth as the weird sensation of the transport beam overtook him. Then he was firing at the three wraith standing in front of them, even as they began to raise weapons.

The sound of his blaster firing was joined a split-second later by the chuffing and clacking of Taggert's and Lorne's suppressed weapon. It only took them a few seconds to take all three down, and then Ronon stepped over the bodies to make sure there were no more waiting around the corner. He knew the Marines would make certain the wraith were dead, and so he did not pause to do it himself. Sometimes there were advantages to working with people, especially when you knew you could trust them to have your back.

Both hallways ahead were clear, but before he could announce it, the eerie wailing of a wraith alarm began to sound. He looked back at his friends and just shrugged, assuming that bodies must have been found. With no reason to hang around, he turned back in the direction they needed to head. He could hear the men behind him removing their suppressors, since the element of surprise was now gone, but did not stop to wait on them. He knew company would be coming soon.

"Alright… let's split up again. Shout if you need help." Lorne ordered and then turned off down the left hallway and his men followed suit.

Taggert looked up from the Life Signs Detector Lorne had loaned him and motioned all clear. They made three more turns before running into a large room with some resistance waiting inside, and then it was several steady minutes of firing from cover. Ronon shouted for suppressing fire and then dove to the left, aiming for a nearby console. It took another minute to get into a decent flanking position, stunner fire zipping by dangerously close on more than one occasion, but then he started laying into the group of wraith across the room.

The new barrage of incoming fire caused them to split their focus, and allowed Taggert to mirror Ronon's movement while the two Marines with them kept up a sustained assault. Caught in a three-way crossfire the wraith quickly succumbed. When the last one went down Ronon hurriedly made his way across the room to check the only exit on that side.

It was the wraith version of an operating room, which Ronon vividly remembered from the times he had a tracker implanted in his back. He fought down the rage those thoughts always dredged up, and after ensuring the room was empty, turned back to the others. They had spread out around the room, and it took a second for him to realize the space was lined on either side with cocoons. Twenty in all, and only three were empty.

Taggert was at a console poking around, and Ronon was about to join him when Lorne radioed that they were all clear and heading back to the transport alcove. Ronon quickly updated them on what his group had found, knowing they would need some help. Lorne sent four men to begin a sweep of the place to make certain they did not miss any other wraith or prisoners and then he called in Teldy's team to help with the survivors. The rest of them started planting C-4 on every console they could find even as Lorne was giving out orders.

They would blow the charges remotely, and once all were back aboard the _Hammond_ , Carter would send ordinance down to finish the job. A good day's work as far as Ronon was concerned.

 **-oO0Oo-**

Mark drained the last of his beer and stood from the rickety stool. The brew was a close equivalent to some of the dark stouts he was used to from back in the Milky Way and he had thoroughly enjoyed it. Murmurs from the semi-crowded bar behind him also gave the place he had stopped in a pub-like atmosphere. It was another trade world he was checking out while he waited on the _Hammond_ to finish up with their latest visit to the Genii. The last world Mark visited had been a bust, since no one had wanted to talk to him.

The place had a bad vibe to it, making him feel like he needed to look over his shoulder the whole time. Everyone was skittish or flat out rude and the second he started asking about the wraith he got the cold shoulder. He noted the address for future investigation and headed for the next one.

The current world was much more friendly and informative. The people did not like to openly discuss the wraith, but that was normal for any trade settlement. You never knew when you could be sitting next to a wraith worshipper, after all. It was different from the stark fear or anger he encountered on the other world, so he was able to pick up some "chatter" here and there. Mark really got lucky though, when he crossed paths with a trader he had met before.

The merchant had introduced him to some friends and they talked for a few hours about the state of the wraith and some other factions making noises around the galaxy. The Coalition had not yet been as effective as some people hoped, but they still helped out culled worlds and were good for information gathering.

"You should contact them, Mark," Ganos said to him just before they were about to part ways. "I know their interactions with your... former employer were not always the most..."

"Civil?" Mark added when it looked like Ganos was at a loss for the word.

The trader chuckled and went on.

"I suppose that word works, but they are trying to help and they have begun to gather a very large amount of information. Perhaps you can make a friendly pact with them… especially since you're not a danger to their power base."

"You see... that's the problem. They're too much like the politicians from my home world. More concerned about their personal gains than the people's well-being. I left that crap behind for a reason."

"Sadly, there is some truth to that," Ganos said as he nodded. "Still... not all of them are that way." He scratched at his chin and then went on. "My cousin has dealings with one of their members. I will see if we can set up a way for the two of you to exchange information without involving the... upper levels of their leadership."

"I'd be grateful, Ganos."

"Bah! You fight the wraith. I am not a fighter, but I like to know I can still do something to help."

"You don't have to carry weapons to be part of the fight. Would you be interested in workin' on some larger trades to help me outfit my camp? I plan to recruit some help eventually and we'll need supplies on occasion."

Ganos reached out to clasp his wrist, wide grin on his face.

"Meet me here in two weeks. I will speak to my cousin before then and we will discuss your future needs. Be vigilant, my friend."

They parted ways and Mark watched the short, slightly pudgy man go with mild amusement. He was one of those people that you just knew you would like from the moment you met him.

With the new info gathered on possible wraith activity and the latest wraith complex he had found on the last non-trade world he scouted, Mark was beginning to feel he was making some actual progress. His next solo stop would be the address that was the next clue in his hunt for the military posting. With a little luck, Mark might soon have a location tracked down and possibly might have a real base of operations. He knew he could make his current spot work, but a real military outpost would be worlds better.

After meeting up with the _Hammond_ and hopefully, closing down another wraith operation, he would see if Ronon could join him checking out the outpost. Having a friend around to watch his back would make things a lot easier. Besides, he could tell after the last time they worked together that the Satedan was getting a little stir-crazy staying on the ship.


	6. Chapter 6

Ronon was just entering the bridge when the bright light of transporter activity began to fill his view. He quickly ducked his head, eyes closed to keep any spots from forming in his vision and then looked up after the standard lighting returned.

Taggert stood at the front of the bridge glancing around for a second after removing his hand from covering his eyes. Ronon was aware that some of the crew thought it was humorous when the former military man did that, especially when Taggert would just wink and grin at their mirth, but Ronon knew his friend was doing the same thing he had just done.

Entering a new situation with poor visibility was a fool's gambit, even if you thought you knew exactly what you were stepping into.

The two men nodded at each other and then headed for Colonel Carter's office, side by side.

"Any luck?" Ronon asked.

"You could say that. Got another wraith structure to blow up."

Ronon just grunted but could already feel the frustration easing. While they were doing a lot of good working from the _Hammond_ , the majority of it was checking in on former allies and tracking down the occasional wraith ship. They had taken out another cruiser, but had yet to cross paths with any hives.

They also had not been on another real mission since the last one with Taggert. Meeting with former trading partners and giving aid to the needy was all well and good, but Ronon wanted... no, he _needed_ to be out there where he could make a real difference. Carter was doing everything she could to accomplish that same objective, but it was difficult coordinating strikes or even just simple away missions when you were constantly on the move.

Carter's door was already open so they went in when they reached it. Lorne and Teldy were standing inside, quietly discussing something and when the two men joined them, it filled the small room to capacity.

"Taggert," Carter said, glancing up from the screen in front of her and then back again. "Report."

Ronon thought some people might be resentful at the perceived mistreatment, especially if they were no longer in the actual chain of command, but Taggert did not hesitate. He knew Carter had a lot on her plate and he had never been the type to need any kind of recognition or ceremony. Ronon knew he was every bit as much of a straightforward warrior as the rest of the people in the room.

"Got another wraith den that needs cleanin' out. This one has a little more activity than the last... even saw a cruiser landing as I was leavin', but it still appears to be lightly guarded from the outside."

Carter finished typing on her computer and then turned her full attention on them.

"We can deal with the cruiser," she said. "Anything else you can tell us about it?"

Taggert scratched at the stubble on his chin and then nodded.

"The word I got was this one might be a little tougher nut to crack. It's supposedly a bit of a fallback for a faction that's on the ropes. My contact is a trader and he introduced me to a couple others that passed this on. Seems like I mighta stumbled into a bit of a poor man's spy network.

"There's a small collective of traders that meet up regularly to pass on intel... they're pretty serious about it, too. Ganos... that's my contact... he says it seems that the... hive or faction that owns the place has been steadily losing ships and the other wraith are eatin' away at 'em."

"How did they come by this info?" Teldy asked, mildly suspicious.

"Apparently, the wraith in question are a little too preoccupied with survival to take care of all their worshippers. Some have been left out in the cold and are singin' like canaries to anyone they think'll… get them another fix, I guess."

"Wonderful," Carter mumbled.

"We take out this outpost and it might just be the straw that broke the camel's back. One less wraith faction out there killing humans." Lorne commented.

"Why don't we just let them finish the job?" Teldy asked. "I mean, I'm all for taking this place out, but if we wait until the other wraith wipe most of them out, it might make our task easier."

Ronon was absolutely certain that the Major did not actually want to wait, but she and Lorne had been doing a lot of this arguing two sides to the problem. Ronon thought Lorne put her up to it so they could present options or different scenarios for the Colonel before she made any decisions. Not that Carter needed it, but she always liked as much intel as she could get.

Ronon, on the other hand, did not see waiting as an option.

"We can't."

When the others looked at him, he shrugged and answered their unspoken questions.

"We can't leave a possible source of valuable information for any other hives to collect."

Taggert was nodding and then spoke after Ronon had finished.

"Might not be anything there worth savin', but then again..." He shrugged and looked at Carter.

"Right. Even if it's just nav charts for worlds full of tasty humans," Carter answered with a grimace. "We need to shut the place down before anyone else gets the data. We'll try and download it ourselves, but worst case... we destroy anything we don't take."

Everyone nodded at that and she went on.

"Taggert, give the address to Operations. They can work out the location in the nav charts and then meet us in the conference room. We'll plan this out with whatever other intel you can give us."

 **-oO0Oo-**

Hot air practically slapped Mark in the face as he stepped away from the event horizon on their destination planet. He estimated it was almost fifteen degrees hotter than the mid-seventies of his own campsite locale, even with the sun already hiding just below the distant tree line. He and Ronon moved quickly to cover after Mark slowed long enough to grab his mini-malp. The two of them were going to scout out the objective to ensure that all was as expected before calling in the rest.

The _Hammond_ was waiting in the sensor shadow of one of the large rising moons orbiting the planet and if they had to abort, the ship would swoop in and pluck them off the surface before jumping into hyperspace. If the mission were still a go, a platoon full of warfighters hungry for action would get beamed down and they would hit the complex hard and fast. Thankfully, communicating the go/abort to the ship via secured a channel was not going to be a problem.

Apparently, Carter was not one to spend her free time frivolously and had been putting the finishing touches on a project she had been working on for a few years. Using knowledge gained from both the Ancients and the Asgard, she had been able to design a small cloaking generator that could be installed on a satellite. A working prototype was finally completed and was even now deployed between the moon and planet. The _Hammond_ would be able to remain in constant radio contact with the ground team.

Mark and Ronon moved in near silence through the heavily wooded area on the way to the objective, splitting apart as they approached to scout a wider area. The cacophony of insect and animal sounds made a strange symphony in the background as Mark crept through the forest, senses on full alert. The redneck playlist of all his favorite tunes actually helped to calm his nerves a little. He was sure that a bunch of wraith trampling around through the foliage would shut the night sounds down, acting as nature's own early warning system. He would take all the help he could get for this mission.

The satellite above had more than just comms installed and the hi-def pictures of a hive ship sitting alongside their target destination had almost been enough to call the whole thing off, but the nearly non-existent power readings they were receiving seemed to be enough for Carter to proceed with the mission. Once the troops were storming the wraith complex the _Hammond_ would fly in, disabling the massive ship's engine before engaging the two cruisers parked nearby.

The Colonel believed that all the ships were grounded to keep any enemies from detecting them lurking around a supposedly uninhabited planet; something likely to draw unwanted attention if they stayed too long.

Ronon had the job of scouting the hive's perimeter for any heavy activity and Mark was assigned the area in front of the facility. It took him about thirty minutes to reach his area of responsibility and he spent the next two hours carefully searching for guards, defenses or any possible surprises. They were not really expecting anything too crazy, since the hive appeared to be a new arrival, but it paid to be cautious.

Along with low power emissions, the satellite had thermal sensors that registered the heat bloom from the hive's engines as rapidly cooling. After measuring the rate of cool down, they were able to estimate that the huge vessel had only been on the planet for about an hour before they arrived. Enough time to empty out plenty of drones, but not really enough to set up any more elaborate security measures.

That was the hope, at any rate.

At the two hours mark, he reported in with the all clear, adding that there were no guards out front and no traps to trigger. Ronon's report came a few seconds later with more of the same. Their intel suggested the hive was struggling and had lost many soldiers, and so far their scouting seemed to reinforce that.

"Alright… we're on approach," Carter's voice came across strong and confident. "Ronon, Taggert, get the front doors open and hold it until the troops arrive. We'll transport them as we make the first attack on the hive. Carter out!"

Mark sprinted to the entrance of the facility, knowing Ronon would be doing the same. There was a slight resistance, as expected, when he cut into the organic material of the outer wall, but it was only a matter of seconds before an appropriate sized hole appeared. He had previously designed a small, one-shot device that output a decent electrical charge just for these wraith doors and quickly crimped one to the power conduits controlling the portal.

A second after he pulled his hand back he could hear the spark from it discharging and smell the nasty odor of burned wraith organic composite. The doors popped even as he caught sight of the transporter's glow out of the corner of his eye. Ronon was inside and prowling the immediate vicinity of the entry, while Mark waited for Gunny Costas, one of his three teammates for this assignment.

Lorne, Teldy, Lieutenant Cole and their teams slipped by, followed by Ronon's assigned squad and then Mark was joining the Gunnery Sergeant as he walked inside ahead of the rest of the platoon.

Mark hefted the Heckler & Koch G36K he was issued for the mission and led his fellow soldiers into the gloom. The purple, tan and grey walls had always creeped Mark out, but he had infiltrated enough wraith built structures for it to not affect his concentration anymore.

The first few minutes they met with minimal resistance, but as they made it deeper into the facility, that changed. A wraith alarm sounded even as Mark rounded a corner and met three drones. Thankfully, they were looking to their right at a cross-tunnel at the time. Gunfire could be heard echoing down the passage they watched for about a second and then Mark and the Gunny's weapons opening up drowning it out. All three wraith went down quickly, clearing the way for Mark to see two more several feet behind them.

Mark shoved Costas aside and ducked back, watching stunner fire zip through the area they had just been standing. He and Costas returned fire, stitching rounds into one of them before the other ducked back. Corporal Brinks bumped into Mark's back and then swung out long enough to toss a flash-bang.

"Fire in the hole!"

Before the echo of the grenade exploding died down Mark, Costas, Brinks and Corporal Harstead were back out of cover and firing. Two more drones had joined the one still standing just in time to catch the full effect of the flash-bang, so all went down without another stunner going off.

Mark and Costas moved forward to check the corners while Brinks leaned down to ensure the wraith were out of the fight. An overly excited Harstead leaned his head back and whooped.

"That's how it's do-"

Stunner fire hit him in the face. Brinks let out a warning yell and dove to the ground behind the first pile of wraith bodies, firing back behind them.

"Cover our six!" Mark yelled at Costas and moved to join Brinks.

There was only one way the wraith could have come from and he had watched a team of four Marines taking that corridor not two minutes before. He quickly ducked behind one of the partitions jutting from the wall, thankful that the wraith did not fire projectile weapons. They would have easily pierced the thin membrane in front of him. Popping out of cover he let off a fusillade of rounds into the two wraith intent on Brinks.

The young Marine hiding behind the wraith body barricade took the distraction Mark bought him and added his own fire a second later. Even as the wraith were falling to the ground, a Marine squad behind them opened fire as well.

"Cease fire!" Mark called. "Bradshaw, take your men and check that corridor. There was a team ahead of us that went that way and might be in trouble."

"Sir!" The Lieutenant nodded and led his men off while Brinks called for a medic to see to Harstead.

After receiving an acknowledgement from one of the support personnel, Mark and Brinks rejoined Costas to head further in.

Slowly, but steadily, they pushed deeper into the facility. There were able to organize several well set up ambushes where his team and another one or two caught some larger groups in a devastating crossfire, progressively eating away at their numbers. There were also a few narrow escapes.

Mark rounded another corner faster than he should have and collided with two wraith. He immediately tried to punch one in the throat and jammed his weapon into the other's chest while opening fire. The heavy fire took the one wraith down, but his throat punch only ended up scrapping his knuckles on the thing's mask.

The drone knocked his hand away and reared back to plant its feeding hand while striking him in the ribs with the side of the stunner held in its off-hand. Thankfully, Mark's reflexes were up to the task. Barely.

He dropped the his rifle as soon as his punch failed, letting the lanyard catch it and freeing up his hand to pull the ten inch tantō from a pressure sheath hanging at the small of his back. The feeding hand was less than an inch away from his chest when the ultra-sharp blade removed the hand from its wrist. A second later Costas was shoving his weapon past Mark's head and into the wraith's face, unloading the weapon expeditiously. Mark was pretty sure it would take a few minutes for the hearing to fully return to his right ear, but he was happy to see the creature fall.

It took his shaky hand a few seconds to re-sheath his blade, but he finally managed and they were once more off for more wraith hunting. All told, the assault took three hours, but the mission was successful.

Mark was slumped against a console afterward, chatting with Teldy and data-mining the wraith systems when Ronon and Lorne showed up to check on his progress. Mark felt some tension leave his shoulders at the sight of his friends in one piece.

"Alright, Taggert… let's wrap it up. The Colonel wants to make this place into a crater."

"You say the sweetest tings to me, Evan."

The others laughed and Ronon slapped him on the shoulder.

"Let's get out of here."

Mark nodded, unhooking his equipment and following the others. It was definitely good day's work, as far as he was concerned.


	7. Chapter 7

The condensation from his ice water dripped onto Mark's shirt, but he ignored it. After several long swallows, he finally set the glass down with an appreciative sigh. They were in the _Hammond's_ wardroom, and after finishing up a meal, were sitting around and chatting about the op. It had gone much better than it could have, with lots of bruises and scratches, but only five of the Marines got stunned and one other suffered a broken collarbone.

The cherry on top had been the presence of the hive's queen. Resistance was a bit heavier than expected, but they had the full platoon to throw at the place and were able to steadily chip away at the defenses. When they finally came across the tall, black-haired, space vampire queen, she was being shuffled away surrounded by hulking drones.

Ronon came in firing from a side tunnel and Lorne hit them hard from another cross tunnel. Taggert and Gunnery Sargent Costas laid into the group from the front, driving them down the wide hallway. The queen sent the drones to hold them off, but she ran into another bit of trouble. Teldy's team had been circling back to help when they entered the same room the queen had ducked into. Word was that the queen did not even have time to hiss at them before the Major shot her right between the eyes. Say goodnight, Gracie!

After that it was mop-up, download the intel and set the charges. With no jamming in place on the hive, Carter beamed a nuke inside the ship and the facility, ensuring nothing remained.

The few people they had rescued from cocoons were getting treatment and would soon undergo interviews to begin the process of returning them to their homes.

Ronon, Lorne, Teldy and Carter, who had just joined them, sat around the ward room table. It was a little bittersweet for Mark. It reminded him of similar instances on Atlantis, but there was no denying they were not in the city anymore and he still missed his old team.

"Good call on that outpost, Taggert." Carter saluted him with her glass, and Mark nodded in return. "If you find any more intel like that, let us know. Even If you can't join us to check it out, we can still look into it."

"Roger that. I'll keep my ears peeled."

"You come across any more of that roasted chicken... thing, you be sure and let us know, too." Lorne grinned, having just eaten a sandwich from the leftovers Mark had once more brought along.

The rest of them laughed, and Mark nodded again, mock seriously.

"Colonel, I was wonderin' if you'd loan out Ronon's services for a day or two?"

Carter glanced at Ronon and then back again with a question in her eyes when the man looked just as confused. Mark had not mentioned it to Ronon yet, but was pretty sure the Satedan would not mind helping. He probably would not need the backup, but if his time in the Stargate program had taught him anything, it was always proceed with caution.

"I've got an address I need to check out, and could use an extra pair of eyes."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Ronon?"

The big man shrugged.

"I'm game."

Carter rolled her eyes.

"Of course you are. It gets you off this ship. We're actually going to take a week for diagnostics and maintenance on some of the _Hammond's_ systems, so we can hang out in orbit until you get done. Do you need any more help?"

Mark knew he could probably use it, but considering he was possibly going to the military outpost he found info about previously, he declined. He was sure Ronon would not discuss what they found, and he did not want to put any of the others in a position that could cause conflict with their oaths of service.

"No, but thanks anyway. It probably won't amount to much, and Ronon'll end up irritated at me because I brought him along for somethin' so boring."

The man in question narrowed his eyes, but did not say anything. Mark hoped the Satedan would know he would not ask if it was not potentially important.

"Okay. Well, we'll use the time to send some teams through your gate. Assuming that's not a problem?"

"Not for me. Knock yourselves out… oh, and feel free to use my camp. There's not a lot to do around here, but if you have any people that like huntin', fishin' or hikin' this is the ideal place. They can rack out at my campsite. I've even rigged up a shower, so the citified among you could handle it."

"Gee…thanks. I'll put the word out, and let some people get a little planet-side liberty, if they're interested."

"Sounds good. Ronon, we'll leave in the mornin'. In the meantime, now that the sun's over the yard arm, I think I'm gonna hang out by the bonfire with a cold beer. Y'all join me if you like."

 **-oO0Oo-**

Mark took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He always liked that first breath of air on a new world. It was never exactly the same, so even if the sights were of common foliage like on a lot of worlds, you still knew you were somewhere you had not been before.

Of course, he was also busy scanning their surroundings like Ronon was, but there was still time for the little things. Old paving stones, partially covered in dirt and weeds, marked a long-forgotten path to the gate they had just stepped through. The meandering ancient roadway led them into a forest of giant trees similar to redwoods and though mostly overgrown, the way through the woods was still clear.

After a quick glance at Ronon where he received a nod, they headed off. Mark had no idea if the road would lead them directly to the old Ancient outpost, but it was the only direction he had other than the description in the correspondences. As far as he knew, there was nothing else on the planet, so he would follow it until they no longer could.

Luckily, Ronon was not one of those people that needed to fill silence, so there was no awkwardness or stunted conversation as they made their way quietly along the path.

It was an hour later that both of them stopped dead in their tracks, right along with all of the forest noise that had been going on in the background. Ronon spun to cover their six while Mark raised his rifle. He had chosen the Springfield M1A Semi-Auto for this trip over the assault rifle because he did not expect to need concentrated firepower. That might end up being an error in judgement, but only time would tell. He was pretty dead-on accurate with the M1A, so it really was a toss-up depending on what attacked them.

For all Mark really knew it could just be this planet's wildlife version of a siesta.

"Anything?" Mark whispered.

"No... thought I heard movement to my left, but..."

They waited a few more minutes before moving on, slowly and more cautiously watching their surroundings.

Just when he thought it was just his mind playing tricks, he heard a "Watch out!" At the same time as Ronon shoved him hard forward and he heard the Satedan's blaster go off. Normally that might make a man want to turn around and see what was going on, but Mark had been in too many ambushes to give in to that impulse. If the big guy needed him to assist, he would have said so. The area in front was now Marks responsibility.

He was very happy that experience had hammered that lesson home a second later when two fast-moving objects came out of the woods from either of the road ahead of him. A quick center mass shot to the right and he was shifting aim left and moving that way as well. The thing bearing down on him looked like a cross between a large cat and a lizard; a large, toothy lizard with sharp claws.

The creatures came up to about mid-thigh with tan, scaly skin. The left-most animal had just bunched its legs to jump when Mark's shot took it in the head. He spun back to the right to find the other kicking, but still down. They had large eyes and no tail, but that was all the time he had to look, because over the sound of another shot by Ronon he could hear rustling in the brush all around them.

"Duck!"

Mark hit the deck without a thought and watched sharp steel slice through the neck of another of the creatures as it passed through where his chest had been. At that moment, he was very happy he had traded Ronon the Kukri a year before. The heavy chopping blade had cleanly bisected the beast and allowed the Satedan to finish his spin in time to shoot another lizard-cat.

Mark huffed out a sharp breath and then focused on his surroundings once more, getting to his feet even as he fired at more targets. It took them several more shots and a bit more cutting to finally gain a reprieve; Mark's own hair-splittingly sharp tantō getting a workout as well. Finally, a sizzling flash of red light took out another of the things to Mark's left and then all was quiet other than his breathing.

"I think that's the last of them... for now, anyway." Ronon said quietly from behind him.

"Yeah... I don't see any either."

"Keep going?"

"Let me reload first."

Once a new magazine was securely seated in his rifle he nodded to his friend and both walked over to one of the creatures' laying on the bloody stone and dirt path. The animal's blood had quickly soaked into the white sand, but there was still plenty on the stones and them.

Ronon nudged the beast with a boot and then went back to scanning their surroundings.

"Wonder if you can eat them?" He asked.

Mark might once have found the idea revolting, but past experience in Pegasus where Ronon and even Teyla had gotten him to try some strange local cuisine had squelched that urge, so Mark just shrugged.

"Grab one and bring it along."

"Nah... leave 'em for the scavengers."

"Yeah... think we can clean this blood off enough to not attract attention?"

"It's too soaked in by now. We'll just have to be ready for trouble," Ronon answered and then started walking.

The tall Satendan did pull out a rag and clean up the excess on his clothes, just like Mark was doing, but that was more to get rid of the mess than anything else. Mark followed after, scanning the trees on both sides of the path once more.

It was only about a half hour later that they came to the end of the trail. It ran straight up to a heavy cluster of vegetation and rock with no forks to be found. Mark frowned in consternation and was about to start scouting around when Ronon reached out to block his path.

"That's not stone," he said, pointing to the stone plinth-like stand of slate-grey rock in front of him.

Before Mark could question his friend's observational skills, Ronon began cutting away at some of the foliage and Mark could see what the man meant; the plinth was part of a decorative archway that looked natural only because of the overgrowth. The process only took a few cuts and then the doorway was obvious.

The two were able to clear the growth and pry the doors open after about fifteen minutes of work. A few seconds later, they were standing in small room that the glow of their flashlights revealed to be of Ancient design.

"Sweet," Mark breathed out.

Ronon just nodded and moved to the next door. The entrance area only appeared to have a couple of empty tables, so Mark did not hesitate any more than his companion did. The next room was more like what he was searching for; consoles and monitors spread around the room.

There was another door, but it appeared to lead to some living quarters, according to Ronon and they were mostly empty. Mark was too busy basking in the ever so faint hum going on in the back of his brain, that and the light that was slowly coming up around the room.

"Huh... looks like Carter might just get her hands on another ZPM," he said to Ronon.

"Why didn't we find all of these before? This seems too easy," was the big man's reply, frustration coloring his words.

"Been thinkin' about that myself."

"And?"

"Well... the main focus from day one, as I understand it, was the wraith. Power was needed, of course, but so was food and supplies. Explorin' every gate address took a back seat to checkin' out the ones with the most potential for those resources. From what Sheppard said, Teyla and her people helped choose many of the initial places the Expedition went to."

"True... I guess it's just frustrating that you've possibly found two _only_ after Atlantis is no longer here."

"Sadly, it really is just a coincidence. I didn't even find this place through our database... I found it through the other outpost, remember?"

Ronon just grunted.

"Alright... this might take a while, so let me see if I can get anything through these console... set up a search and we can scout the area."

"Maybe we'll be eating some of that lizard thing after all," Ronon replied.

 **-oO0Oo-**

It took three days before Mark found what he was looking for. By that time, he and Ronon had already made one trip back to home base to let Carter know it might take some more time. Mark was pretty sure Carter knew he had found something interesting, but she only asked if he could use some people to watch their backs while he finished what he was doing.

Considering they had encountered some more of the lizard-cats as well as that world's equivalent of a bear, he agreed.

On the second day Mark and Lorne had carefully torn apart the consoles and panels in the room until they found the ZPM powering the place. It was also powering hundreds of sensors spread out in the surrounding forest to monitor the wildlife. Ronon, Sergeant Stackhouse and two other Marines had a nice bonfire going and were busy cleaning the bear they had killed when it attacked their camp. Apparently, the world they were on had some fairly aggressive creatures.

On the morning of day three Mark was eating a bowlful of the surprisingly tasty bear stew Corporal Pankratz had whipped up when his tablet alerted him to a completed search.

One hour later, and another search later, Mark found the address he was searching for and let out a little whoop of joy. Once again, he erased the pertinent info he was using and left everything else as it was for Carter.

They packed up and were back at the gate before the sun had reached its zenith. Of course, the moment they stepped through onto Mark's world, the sun was just rising. He thanked Lorne and his people for their help and informed the Air Force Major that he would talk to Carter shortly. All in all, it was a productive few days.


	8. Chapter 8

So… what's this really about?" Ronon asked as they approached the DHD.

A quick glance around told him they were alone, and Mark explained.

"So, I found some ruins that had an Ancient research outpost underneath. Abandoned long before the ruin builders found it, and I doubt they were able make anything of it, because the place still had power, and I was able to access the computers." Mark scratched at his neck, and then went on. "It was mostly a bunch of borin' science stuff, but by pure luck I came across a reference to a military outpost. Eventually, I tracked down the address we went to the other day, which led me to another."

"That's where we're headed?"

"Yep. I don't wanna bring anyone else in on this 'til I can find out if there's anything there worth salvagin'."

"I guess I can see that."

"Carter and the others are still in the military. Anything they find, they have to report, and it will ultimately be someone else's decision of what to do with it. So, I don't wanna get them involved yet."

"And whatever you find would probably end up bogged down in the…"

"Red tape?"

"Red tape… Yeah, let's not do that."

"Right. So my plan is to check it out, see if there's anything we can use to put a hurtin' on the wraith, and secure it as my own. I will then gladly share with Carter, because if she can truthfully report that any new tech or info belongs to someone else, there's nothin' they can do about it."

"Good plan."

"Thanks. Besides, the two research outposts should make some of them happy, and I'm willin' to bet the other place is powered by a ZPM, too. Carter can use a naquadah generator to power the computers and snag the ZPMs from both."

"Let's do it," Ronon answered then checked that his blaster was loose in the holster.

"By the way," he said just as Mark began to move. "Carter offered to release me from my contract if I wanted to join you."

Mark stopped short and stared at his friend. Ronnon looked like they had just been discussing the weather and then suddenly grinned at him.

"Well, hot damn! I assume you said yes?"

Ronon shrugged.

"Didn't think you'd mind."

Mark snorted a laugh at that gigantic understatement and turned back to the task at hand.

Ten seconds later the wormhole was established, and Mark sent his mini-MALP through the gate. He had bought a half-dozen radio-controlled cars when he was back on Earth that he updated with a camera and some sensors. That way he could at least make sure he did not walk through a space gate.

"Hmm… dark as pitch, but viable life support. Let's roll."

A few seconds later Mark stood staring, open-mouthed for he knew not how long until Ronon nudged him. He glanced at the man, and noticed he too could not take his eyes off what was in front of them. Lights were slowly coming up in a room a few times larger than the Atlantis gate room.

Straight ahead of them, at the back of the space and about thirty feet up, a room protruded down as though it was hanging from the ceiling. A first guess would be control room. Unlike Atlantis there was no control room and office to the right, or even the left, so he felt safe assuming the room overlooking the gate served that function.

In place of the missing rooms to the right, there were six Puddle Jumpers in three rows, two high. At the back of the gate room, there were windowed rooms on either side of a door that looked big enough to fly one of those Jumpers through with room to spare. On the left were six more Jumper berths, though only three of the ships occupied a slot.

The runway leading up to the gate was a raised platform that ran most of the length of the room, and was likely twenty feet wide. Along each side were three stanchions, each topped with what appeared to be a heavy energy weapon. The weapon emplacements were evenly spaced along the runway, and were obviously there for defense against anything unfriendly that might come through the gate.

"Wasn't expecting this," Ronon quietly stated.

"Neither was I. Thought it'd be more like the other outposts we've come across, but I guess I didn't think it through. This is supposed to be a military outpost, after all."

"And it recognizes your gene… or could the lights just be for anyone that comes in?" Ronon asked.

"Good question. You feel like lookin' around?"

The man just grunted and moved off. There were doors on either side of the room at the back of the Jumper berths, and Ronon headed to the one on the left. Mark went right, and soon found himself walking down similar hallways to Atlantis. Instead of taking a leisurely stroll around, he went up the first set of stairs he found, and went in search of the control room. He would look for transporters later.

He knew that there would be plenty of time to explore, as long as the place had sufficient power. Once he could verify the status of that, then he would know how much time he had to look around. That, of course, was assuming an ocean did not come crashing in on them at some point. He had no idea where the outpost was located, so that could actually be a possibility.

After several wrong turns, and around thirty minutes later, Mark finally found what he was looking for. There were five consoles spread throughout the room, and at the front was floor-to-ceiling windows all of the way across giving an unobstructed view of the gate room. Either side of the control room had a door leading to an office that also had a glass wall overlooking the gate room. As he approached, the consoles began lighting up, but he ignored them to stand at the window for a look down into the space below.

A minute later he remembered he needed to check on the power, and then he could gawk all he wanted… time permitting. Choosing the front-center station, he hooked up his tablet, and then quickly found the root directory. He may not be Doctor McKay, but he felt he had become pretty proficient with Ancient systems after two years working on Atlantis, and it did not take him long to sort out what he needed to know.

He then let out an embarrassing redneck yell at what he found. Thankfully, he was still alone. The base, and that was what the place was rather than a mere outpost, required two ZPMs to power it. Both were present and both were sitting pretty at ninety-four percent.

There was plenty of other info he would need to know, but the next thing he did was pull up a map of the base to see what it would show. The place was enormous; just about a third of the size of Atlantis, and that was merely the main facility. Apparently, there were a few other sections not listed on the main map. He put off checking them for the time being, and dug around until he found some of the specifications on the base,

It had once supported five thousand people in its prime, and was not just a facility to house the troops. It also had some manufacturing capabilities and research labs, though he did not dig into that right then. The big shock came when he found out that they were not on a planet. As he was looking around earlier, he had vaguely wondered why there were no windows looking outside. He assumed that just meant that he had not found any outside walls yet, but that was not the case.

The base was built into an asteroid. It would actually be considered a planetoid, to be more precise. It was in the middle of a vast asteroid belt in an uninhabited system. There were also no inhabited systems adjacent to it. A bonus when it came to security and one aided by the fact that you could not recognize the base as such from the outside. If someone had done the improbable and happened across this particular planetoid, they would not have seen or detected anything that suggested it was not exactly what it appeared to be.

Before digging into the rest of the file he was reading, he decided to update Ronon.

"Ronon, come in."

"Yeah."

"You wanna meet me up at the control room?"

"Sure. I can…"

Silence for a few seconds, and then a soft grunt.

"Ronon?" Mark stepped back from the console and gripped his weapon a little tighter. "Ronon, come in."

"You might want to come to me… you need to see this."

Mark's shoulders slumped in relief.

"You tryin' to give a fella a heart attack?" He reached over and hit the key to bring up the map again, this time with internal sensors active to locate the Satedan.

After pulling up a route to meet his friend, he set out. He passed a lot of office spaces, and a room he guessed was a mess hall before finding the right corridor that led to the Satedan. He had noticed that Ronon was in one of the unknown section he had seen earlier, but did not take time to investigate. Maybe he should have done that before heading to meet the man.

Ronon was in another control room with the floor-to-ceiling windows, shining his flashlight out into the large open space ahead of him. Once Mark entered the room, the lights came on, as well as in the large room ahead of them. Mark quirked an eyebrow at his friend, but the man never took his eyes off the area he had been looking at. It turned out to be a pretty sizeable hangar, and Ronon's gaze was fastened on the unfamiliar, yet clearly of Ancient design, massive warship that was sitting on the deck.

"Son of a…" Mark's words trailed off and he mind went a little blank for a moment.

Some indeterminate time later Ronon turned to look at him. A second after that they were both grinning like fools. This by itself was more than worth the price of admission, but Mark had a feeling that the base had much more to give. The ZPMs alone would have been enough, especially since they had not needed to run a shield for ten thousand years. This base had been almost completely powered down the whole time, only trickling enough juice to power the passive sensors that detected activity in the gate room so the lights would come up, and the life support system, which had only maintained the gate room until they arrived.

"Ronon, buddy… I think I'm home."

"Need a roommate?"


	9. Chapter 9

Even feeling as tired as he was, Mark could still not wipe the smile off his face when he came through the gate. He had spent the rest of the day and on through the night delving into the base systems and it had just kept getting better and better. In fact, he was only coming back to restock his supplies for a longer stay, and to check in with Carter. He had a present for her, and could not wait to see her face when he handed it over.

"What's this, now? What's got you two so giddy?"

The familiar Scottish accent met them a few seconds after he and Ronon walked through the gate.

Mark, still smiling, looked at Ronon. Though the man _was_ smiling, it was faint, and he had no idea what Carson Beckett saw to make him think otherwise. The doctor had known Ronon longer, so Mark let it go.

"Carson! What brings you to my neck of the woods?" Mark asked, ignoring the man's question.

"Well, this is my scheduled check in with the _Hammond_ , and the Colonel said she'd be here."

They exchanged a backslapping hug, and then headed toward his camp. The doctor regaled them with the list of planets he had been to in the last month and a half, and Mark shared some of what he had been doing. He kept his most recent discovery to himself for the time being, but he would eventually let the Doc know. Right then he wanted to get cleaned up and see Carter.

"We'll talk later, Doc… right now I'm gonna jump in the rain locker, and then grab some chow. Then I gotta meet with the Colonel."

After the shower and a change of clothes, he had a hasty bite from his rations. He threw a quick wave to Carson, and then he contacted the ship.

" _Hammond_ , this is Taggert."

"Go ahead, Taggert."

"Can you pass along a request to meet with the Colonel?"

"I'm free right now," Carter's voice answered after a couple of seconds lapsed. "You ready to beam up?"

After a glance at his friend, he answered. "Ronon and I are. Beam away."

A bright flash of light later and they were standing on the bridge of the _Hammond_. Carter waved them to follow, and headed to her office. Mark could hardly contain his excitement, and could tell that Carter knew something was up.

"So… your trip went well, I take it," Carter stated after sitting behind her desk.

"Could say that," Ronon rumbled, and then grinned.

Mark just reached into his backpack, and pulled out a fully charged ZPM. Carter's jaw dropped slightly as he set it on her desk. Her hands almost appeared to be in slow motion while they reached across and picked it up. A smile eased onto her features as she turned the object in her hands.

"Where? How…"

Ronon actually chuckled, and then slapped Mark on the arm.

"I'm gonna go shower and eat. I'll catch up with you later. Colonel," He said and then nodded respectfully to his soon-to-be-former boss. He had only joined Mark in her office because he wanted to see the look on Carter's face.

Carter never took her eyes off the ZPM.

"Well, it's a long story."

He told her about finding the research outpost and then lucking across the reference to the base. He went into a lot more detail about how he tracked down the address than he had with Ronon, because he knew she would be more interested. Nothing was left out, and he even handed her a note with both of the research outpost gate addresses on it.

"All of that led me to the address Ronon and I went to. Carter… it's unbelievable. It's an actual, honest to God _military_ _base_ … with all that entails. If we'd had this before Atlantis left… hell, if Sheppard had it when he first got to Pegasus things could have been pretty damn different." He knew there was a look of wonder on his face, but did not even try to kill it. "It has two, near full charge ZPMs running the place… and…"

"Well, one now, right?"

A full-fledged smile broke out.

"Nope. Still two." He grinned at her confused look. "The base also has a few different manufacturin' facilities… includin' one for buildin' and chargin' ZPMs."

The one in her hands made a "thunk" as it slipped an inch to hit her desktop from where she had been holding it. Her jaw really dropped this time.

Mark was still grinning.

"That's not all," he said.

"Not all?"

Carter had almost fully recovered already, but Mark was not surprised considering everything she had seen in her time with SG-1. She still looked a tiny bit uneven, though. Mark's smile was still going strong.

"There's a small shipyard… which has a completed, shiny-new Ancient warship. It's listed as a _Scutin_ class and it's a beast."

Carter's eyes widened at that news.

" _Scutin_ … shield or defence. I guess that would be fitting," she said.

"I'll say. It's a bit bigger than an Aurora… wider, but not much taller and the length is too close to eyeball. There's more info in the database, but I haven't got around to it yet. It appears to be only the second ever built of its class."

Carter nodded and then she was smiling as big as Mark was… for a moment. Then she looked at the ZPM and back to him.

"What are you planning to do with this? With all of it?"

"Well, this ZPM is a gift to you. I figured you could use it on the _Hammond_ , though I'm not sure how long Earth will let you keep it." Mark watched her roll her eyes at that. "As for the rest… assumin' Ronon is officially released from his contract, we're claimin' the base and will eventually start usin' it to take the fight to the wraith and to help the people of Pegasus."

Carter nodded slowly, but Mark could see the wheels turning in her head. He went on before she said anything.

"I know it's gonna take a while before we're ready to actually do anything serious, but this is… it's hope. That's what this means to me. Now we really have some tools to fight back."

"Did you have time to figure out how long it takes to make one of these, and do you already have a surplus?" She pointed at the crystalline structure on her desk.

"It takes roughly six months to grow and build the crystal vessel, and around a week to properly charge it. They're rechargeable, by the way. I haven't figured out the exact details for all of it yet, but it looks complicated as all get out. It's gonna take someone with your kinda smarts to truly understand the process... or possibly McKay, if we have to.

"Oh, and I do have a few extra."

Carter smiled.

"Good. I don't have to tell you, the IOA's gonna blow a gasket when they hear about this." Mark shrugged, unimpressed and she went on. "For now… let's discuss this ZPM of yours." She patted the one on her desk.

"I told you, that's yours…" She was already shaking her head before he even finished.

"You're not thinking this through. I certainly do appreciate the thought, but you were right. They're not going to let me keep it. Not with the ones in Atlantis nearly depleted." She shrugged. "So… thanks for the thought, but let's back that up a second."

She took a moment to pour them some coffee before she carried on.

"Now… Earth and the Milky Way are relatively secure right now, so I feel the brass can spare some resources. I mean, if there was suddenly an enemy fleet on its way to Earth…" she shrugged. "I don't doubt that you would come to our aid without hesitation, but at this time, things appear to be quiet enough. So… What would you like in _trade_ for this incredibly rare, highly sought after power source?"

Mark barked out a laugh. She was right; he really had not thought it through. He had just been thinking that she and most of the other people he considered friends were running around a galaxy with wraith in it, and the ZPM could give them a serious advantage. He was more concerned with their safety, than what he needed. He _had_ been right, however. They would not let the _Hammond_ keep it, unless they had enough for Atlantis to be fully capable of defending Earth.

Maybe they would not even need to keep Atlantis if they had enough ZPMs and drones to protect Earth. Something to think about in the future, so he focused his attention back on the Colonel.

The breath he let out was slow and steady. Carter patiently waited.

"I'll need supplies… and manpower, but that's gonna be tricky."

"I'll think it over some more later. What about the warship? Are you going to fly it, or work through the gate?"

"Honestly? The first thing I thought of... when I finally calmed down enough _to_ think, was… 'I wonder if a brand-new warship would be enough to entice Sheppard back to Pegasus if Atlantis doesn't come?'. I have no idea what he's plannin', but that ship would be a hell of a lot deadlier in his hands. I can make Ancient tech work, _almost_ as good as he can, but I definitely don't have the instincts when it comes to flying."

Carter smiled again, and leaned back in her chair. She was staring at the ZPM once more, but he was sure her thoughts were on all of the things he had said.

"Would you consider loaning the warship to the United States Air Force? We supply the people, promise to keep it in Pegasus… or at least based here and tasked with protecting the people of this galaxy. I'm sure a run back to Earth every now and then would be expected. We might be able to work something similar out for the base."

"I'll have to think about that one. Maybe if I can find some way to ensure that they would remain my possessions, so to speak. I trust you, Sheppard and O'Neill completely, but at the end of the day… it's the politicians back on Earth that make the policy, and y'all have to follow orders."

"I think we can do something about that. You remember when the Ancient warship _Tria_ 's crew returned to Atlantis and locked everyone out? McKay and I looked into that. I bet there's a similar function at your new base."

Mark nodded thoughtfully. He did remember reading about that. It would certainly set his mind at ease, and as long as it was used to fight the wraith, he did not care who was flying the ship. Well, they needed to be competent, too. Sheppard may even prefer to get his team back together and run missions through the gate.

"We've still got another couple days of maintenance work scheduled. If you're going back, I could take a day and join you," Carter offered.

"That would be awesome. When do you wanna leave?"

"Give me a few hours."

Mark nodded, but then reached down to his side and spoke again.

"I almost forgot," he said, setting another item on her desk. "I also found the base armory."

She reached out and picked up the Ancient version of a sidearm, a bemused look on her face. The weapon certainly had a futuristic "laser gun" look to it. The grip was pretty close to standard, but the receiver was more flat than narrow like a pistol would be. It was comprised of a two-inch wide, eight-inch long and one-inch high rectangle of silver and blue. At the dangerous end, the receiver top and bottom angled in to a point that met in the middle, save for the thin, inch-long slot at the center that had a crystalline piece inset.

"It doesn't pack quite the punch Ronon's blaster does per shot, but it has a faster rate of fire that almost evens it out," he said while she inspected it. "I'd certainly feel comfortable if I had to take on some wraith with it."

"You have an armory full of these?"

"Probably about two hundred... I stopped countin' at fifty. There's also their version of an assault rifle... and the facilities to manufacture more with the right resources. I know this stuff didn't make a difference for the Ancients, because of how badly outnumbered they were, but as long as the wraith aren't able to build another clonin' facility we should be able to use these to make a real difference."

"You may be right. We'll definitely have to remain vigilant. They certainly outnumber us too, but with them still fighting each other... maybe we can one day gain the upper hand."

Carter passed the blaster back, and he re-holstered it.

"Let me know when you're ready to go," Taggert said, and after her nod, he headed back to bridge. He had a ridiculous amount of work to do, but he was still excited about the future.


	10. Chapter 10

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" Harriman announced.

John turned away from _not_ listening to General Landry's comments to O'Neill and Daniel Jackson, and walked over to stand near the Chief Master Sergeant. Before he could ask, the man continued.

"Receiving... Colonel Carter's IDC?"

Again, before John could speak, someone beat him to it. This time it was Carter's voice coming over the intercom.

"Stargate Command, this is Carter. Come in?"

Landry stepped forward frowning, and then keyed the mic to answer.

"Colonel, unless I'm remembering incorrectly... you're not due back for a few months. Is there a problem?"

"Not exactly, sir. I'm still in Pegasus, but there's been... the situation has materially changed. I'm calling to ask if you can set up a time for General O'neill, Colonel Sheppard and yourself to be present for a discussion."

O'Neill leaned forward, grinning.

"Carter. I always thought you were a little psychic. I'm here with Sheppard... are you ready to talk now?"

"Sir! Good to hear from you. Wait one," she said, and the connection went quiet for a moment. "We're ready, but I recommend you transfer this to the conference room, and we should have our discussion over a secure connection."

John exchanged a curious look with O'Neill and Daniel. That could mean trouble. Not something he wanted to hear when he was still almost a week away from even heading out on the _Daedalus_.

"Alright, Carter. Give us ten minutes, and then dial back," O'Neill said after a nod from Landry.

"Understood, sir. Carter, out."

John followed O'Neill and Daniel as they made their way to the conference room, leaving Landry behind to give a few orders. Things had gone pretty smoothly so far for John. He had his people all picked out, and was in the process of getting supplies sorted. Teyla had been helping him with training the new people; hand-to-hand combat as well as debriefing them on the situation in Pegasus, were the main things on the agenda. As he eased into a seat at the conference table next to O'Neill and across from Daniel, he tried to fight down the sense of impending dread.

Finally, Landry joined them, and less than a minute later, they were alerted to the transfer of the connection.

"Colonel, the three of us are here, along with Doctor Jackson. What's this all about?" Landry asked.

"Thank you, sir. With me I have Major Lorne, and Mark Taggert."

Taggert's name caused all four sets of eyebrows to rise, but Carter continued before any of them could speak.

"As I mentioned before; the situation here in Pegasus has changed, somewhat. I'll let Taggert explain, since it's his discovery."

"Gentlemen. I have been able to move forward as I'd planned, and part of that was explorin' some possible Ancient sites. Well, I kinda hit the jackpot, as McKay would say." John and Daniel both snorted, but Taggert continued without pause. "I found a research outpost that was dormant, but still had power. Long story short; I spent a few days lookin' through the database and came across information about a supposed military outpost."

"Military outpost? We always wondered why we never found anything like that, considering they were at war and all that." John spoke up.

"Right. Well, I'm assumin' they kept all word of it quiet for security reasons, especially considerin' their primary security measure was the use of the gene. I'm also pretty sure it's somewhere in Atlantis' database, we just hadn't run across it yet," Taggert explained.

"Considering one keyword search can bring up _billions_ of hits, that's understandable," added Carter.

"Well, I got pretty damn lucky."

John watched O'Neill roll his eyes at the seemingly huge understatement, but the General remained silent.

"After several days of trackin' it down, I got the address... it wasn't just an outpost. It turned out to be a fully functional military _base_."

"That certainly would have been handy five years ago," O'Neill mused somewhat ruefully.

"Wait a minute, Commander. Are you saying that we now have possession of an Ancient military base in Pegasus?" Landry practically growled.

"Uh... respectfully, sir… No, I am not." Landry sat back in surprise, but Taggert went on before he could reply. "It's not _Commander_ anymore, remember, and I'm sayin' that I... a civilian no longer in any way affiliated with the U.S. government... now have an Ancient military base under _my_ command."

It was silent for several seconds, but then O'Neill barked a laugh.

"Didn't I tell you not to touch anything?" He asked, smirking at John.

John could not stop a laugh himself, and knew Taggert would get the joke, since he had told the man about the day he had met General O'Neill and sat in the Antarctic chair. Daniel rolled his eyes, also having been there.

"No excuse, sir." They could all hear the repressed laughter in his voice.

Landry did not look amused, and was still practically floundering for something to say. Fortunately, O'Neill was ready.

"Okay, so… the reason for your call... Hey! Here's a thought; I bet you could use some manpower at this fancy new base of yours. I just so happen to have one Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with the Ancient gene and a platoon of eager young Marines that will be needing a place to operate out of when they get to Pegasus."

"You're sending more people, sir?" Carter cut in.

"Yep. New task force you'll be heading. Congratulations, by the way. We'll discuss the details in person when the _Daedalus_ gets there."

John and Landry both looked at him sideways. Neither had known he was going along when John went back. Of course, knowing O'Neill, he could have just decided right then. Daniel did not even blink at the revelation.

"Umm... Thanks?" Carter muttered.

"So, Taggert... think we could work something out?"

"I do believe we can, though I also was wonderin' if you could send a few more people as well. Know any scientists with knowledge of Ancient technology that would like to help out? Any foremost Ancient experts hangin' around..." Taggert was almost laughing as he spoke.

"Actually…" Daniel began, looking hopeful, but O'Neill just held up a finger in warning. Daniel's shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh.

"And perhaps someone other than Sheppard that can command the ground forces?" Taggert continued, unaware of the byplay.

"You got something else in mind for me to be doing, buddy? I kinda like my job."

"Well, I thought you might like to borrow my brand new _Scutin_ class warship to go out and kill some wraith with, but if you're not interested..."

This time the silence lasted much longer after the bomb drop. A warship? An Ancient warship in perfect condition? _Scutin_ class? John did not even know what to think. O'Neill was once again the first to recover.

"You have the capability to effectively defend the base from the wraith? Without the warship around, I mean?" That was the most serious John could ever remember O'Neill's voice getting.

"We do, sir. The base comes with some serious internal defenses, as well as external weapons platforms that should be able to handle up to three hive ships at one time." Taggert sounded a little proud, and John could not blame him.

"That estimate might even be a bit conservative," Lorne added.

"And you have no problem with civilians working there?" John asked Taggert.

"Not at all. In fact, other than Doctor McKay, Doctor Keller and Doctor Zelenka, I was hopin' you might talk Teyla into joinin' us. This base should be at least as safe as Atlantis was, if not safer. It's a base, but it also has housing for families. We can use all the help we can get, and settin' up trade with other worlds will be a necessity."

"You know… we can't keep calling it _the base_. Got a name picked out?" O'Neill asked.

"The computer lists it as Praesidos," Carter answered.

"Huh…" Daniel Jackson uttered, looking thoughtful.

O'Neill, whose mouth had opened to speak just stopped and blinked at Daniel a few times. When Daniel remained silent, O'Neill gave him an exaggerated "well, what?" look, waving both hands for added emphasis.

Daniel scratched at his head and then shrugged before speaking.

"Uh… well, it means stronghold… or bulwark. Similar to the latin deriva-"

O'Neill's finger went up again and Daniel stopped, letting out another sigh.

"You're willing to let us station some of our military there?" It was Landry asking this time, ignoring the other men.

"Yes, sir. I've already figured out how to assign myself as commander of the base, so as long as no one gets any stupid ideas about takin' the place from me, we should all be able to get along. I'm perfectly happy to share any knowledge found, and we can work out a trade for some of the goods the base can produce once we figure out a way to get manufacturin' up and runnin'."

When he paused for a second, Carter took over.

"As a gesture of good faith in that regard, he has given me two ZPMs, the ones that were used to power the outposts he came across in his search, as well as the coordinates to those research outposts. The two ZPMs I have are roughly at seventy and fifty percent charge. He also has a few more ZPMs, and some drones that he is willing to trade for."

"I like the way you think, Taggert. I believe we can work something out. We'll talk more when I get there. Carter, install a ZPM on the _Hammond_ until we meet up. At that point, I'm afraid both will have to come back to Earth and Atlantis. We'll see what we can do to get you another one in the future."

"Taggert, Colonel, Major… give us a second to discuss something?" Landry asked, and when they agreed, the General muted the intercom, and then turned to O'Neill.

"You know, if Carter sends a ZPM through the gate right now, Sheppard's unit can join them in a day. I have no doubt you'll be able to work something out with Taggert. I'm also pretty sure Sheppard and Taggert won't have any trouble getting along."

John nodded. He did have some more things to do to get ready, but any forgotten supplies could be sent out on the _Daedalus_. The quicker he could get back to Pegasus the better, as far as he was concerned. He was certain Teyla would feel the same.

O'Neill's eyes looked off into the distance for a second, and then he reached for the mute button on the intercom.

"Change of plans. Carter, send a ZPM through the gate now along with the gate address for the base. I give you my word, Taggert; we officially recognize your claim to the base and will not attempt anything stupid. We'll hook up the ZPM here, and send Sheppard and his platoon through in two days. I should be able to join them so you and I can talk about how to help each other out, otherwise I'll come out on the _Daedalus_. Sound good?"

John was not certain if Taggert's hesitation was to talk it over with Carter, or just to think it through in his own head. Whatever the reason, it still only took him ten seconds.

"Agreed. We'll send the ZPM through in... two minutes. Thank you, sirs."

"No... Thank you. As I said, I was already planning to send Sheppard and some people back to help. I feel a lot better about what they'll be able to accomplish now. We'll talk in a couple days. O'Neill, out."

John let a small smile quirk his lips, and leaned back in his chair. A second later O'Neill clapped him on the shoulder and a full smile came out.

"Sheppard, you've got two days. See if you can talk McKay, Keller and Zelenka into joining you, or at least being ready to hitch a ride on the _Daedalus_. We'll worry about anyone else after Taggert and I have worked out some details."

After that, the three other men went into Landry's office, and John got up to go meet with Teyla. His mind was churning, but under it all was the excitement he felt about going back.


End file.
